Transport group Piston is threatening to stage a three-day strike if the government does nothing to stop pump prices from going up, dzBB reported Thursday.

Piston-Baclacaran head Cecilio Latoreno told dzBB that the recent price hikes have reduced their income substantially.

Piston head Mody Floranda said a transport strike cannot be ruled out as pump prices are set to continue rising until December. He did not say when this will be done.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno opposed calls to remove the excise tax on fuel, which transport groups claim is adding to their problem.

“We recognize public sentiment to address the elevated fuel prices. However, as government, it is our responsibility to be cautious in implementing policies that could negatively impact the macro-fiscal stability and sustainability of the country,” Diokno said in a statement on September Tuesday.

The DOF maintains that Congress proposals to suspend the imposition of value-added tax (VAT) and excise tax on petroleum products under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law will have a consequential impact on the country’s economic recovery, credit ratings, and overall debt management strategy.

Diokno said the move will only benefit the top 10 percent of Filipino households who consume nearly half (48.7 percent) of the country’s fuel, compared to the bottom 50 percent households that only consume around 10.2 percent.

If the imposition of VAT and excise taxes on fuel are suspended, the DOF estimates that the government will lose P72.6 billion or 0.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in total excise tax (P 41.4 billion) and VAT (P 31.2 billion) on fuel products for the last quarter of 2023. DMS